Dig in to healthier baking and a healthier new year with the Irish! Irish Oatcakes are a terrific, hearty cracker-bisquit made from oats and flour. They are light and nutty with a just-baked crispness that works well with savory or sweet accompaniments.

The potatoes in this recipe are first seared till they are almost cooked tender. Then towards the end of the cooking, the potatoes are seasoned with garlic and mango to prevent them from burning while still flavoring the potatoes.

Beets are the triple homicides of the vegetable kingdom: Everyone avoids them because of the messy red stains. But beets are my almost-favorite vegetable, trailing only Brussels sprouts (the Elephant Men of the vegetable kingdom) and a spinachy green known as pigweed.

I love recipes that call for buttermilk, but hate the fact that grocery stores only sell it in large containers. Here's an easy solution that solves the dilemma of leftover buttermilk so you don't have to eat buttermilk pancakes every day.